Flipkart Plans to Sell White Goods & Furniture Soon

Indian ecommerce giant, Flipkart is planning to start selling products in new and untapped categories such as White Goods and Furniture. These items are not usually sold online and represent a big gap when it comes to the eCommerce ecosystem. When it comes to furniture, there are quite a few eCommerce startups such as Urban Ladder, Housefull, Fabfurnish and others who are trying to provide decent furniture online. Flipkart entering this segment will mean greater competition for these players because of how well known the Flipkart brand is.

According to Sachin Bansal, CEO of Flipkart, they are currently working on launching the white goods and furniture category. This may happen in the next few months. The company has also planned to launch its own fashion brand called Flippd. Bansal feels that white goods like refrigerators and washing machines could definitely be integrated into eCommerce but no one is doing that yet. If the company lists products in these new categories, they will be one of the first major ecommerce companies in India to do so.

“The difference between the range of products available online and offline is still pretty incremental in India compared to what it is like in China and the US. Therefore, we need to do much more work. Internet is a category in which you make money when you have the scale and a critical mass. At present, it’s about our ability to scale up as quickly as we can – that is the bigger constraint than the market. We want to be the leader in each of the e-commerce categories,” he said.

Online sellers should track this development carefully. If you plan to sell white goods and furniture, this could be a very important opportunity for you to sell some big ticket items online. Being one of the first merchants to do will mean that you will get more attention from your consumers and they will also remember your brand well.